SUMMARY: Magneto/Xavier.  Adult material, sexual content.  When
Magneto asks for Xavier's help, he gets it.  But what will he do
when he finds that Xavier wants something from him as well?

NOTE FROM JANE:   Oh happy day!  Mercutio finally got around to
sending me her unfinished Magneto/Xavier, I finally got around to
finishing it and grafting it into continuity, and we both are
finally reasonably satisfied with the results.  Of course, it still
reads like a PWP that someone glued a plot onto, but hey, PWP is
all right, isn't it? :-)

CONTINUITY: This story diverges from continuity somewhere between
X-Men Unlimited #1 and #2, the major change thus far being that
Magneto has not mysteriously transformed into a complete lunatic in
this time period.  

ARCHIVE:  You may archive anywhere, just let us know where.




Mutants 'R Us, by Mercutio (mercutio@europa.com) and Jane of
Shadows (shemar@mindspring.com)
 

     BOOM!

     With a thunderous noise, the front door of the school --
Professor Xavier's Academy for Gifted Youth -- fell inside.  A
heartbeat later, an electromagnetic pulse went through the
building, killing all electronic equipment inside.

     As a calling card, it lacked something.

     However, it got the attention of the occupants of the
building, who responded in a manner benefiting their training -- if
not quite befitting the name of their alma mater.  The youngest
graduate of this exclusive prep school, here visiting the ill
sister of her ex-boyfriend, vanished through the wall of her
bedroom, racing toward the disturbance, heedless of all obstacles
in her way.

     In the study hall, otherwise known as the Danger Room,
Professor Xavier hit the Emergency Stop button by instinct,
although the EMP pulse had already made the action unnecessary. 
"We are under attack."

     Each of the room's occupants responded.  "On it!"  "Let's get
them!" "Yes, sir!" some cried.  Others let their actions speak for
them.

     Cyclops, Bishop, Beast, Storm and Wolverine -- all of whom
were a bit old to be thinking about preparing for college -- flung
themselves out of the Danger Room and toward the enemy.

     Kitty Pryde popped her head through the wall, "It's Magneto!"

     "No, kid," Wolverine snarled.  "It's lunch."

     "Wait!" Kitty said, as they stampeded after their attacker,
"He's... sitting in the parlor," she finished, to no one at all.

****

     Two hours, some broken furniture and two emergency vehicles
later, Charles Xavier and Magneto sat alone in Xavier's office --
the parlor being completely unusable until the large slashes in the
furniture could be repaired and the monsoon-damaged carpet
replaced.

     "Does everything *have* to be an attack?" Xavier asked, mildly
curious about his guest's manner of announcing himself.

     "Charles, Charles," Magneto said patronizingly.  "How can you
say something so naive?  You train your 'X-Men' to respond in the
same manner. How many times has your team simply strolled up and
knocked on my door? Never."
 
     "Magnus..." Xavier said, in a strained tone of voice, "Be
reasonable.  If you would recall, every time the X-Men have 'paid
you a visit', as you might say, you were threatening to take over
the world."

     "No," Magneto corrected, "in each case, I was attempting to
save the world."

     Xavier shook his head.  "I know that you believe that to be
true..."

     Magneto spread his hands.  "Da stehen Sie."

     The professor did not need a translation.  Even if he had not
understood the German phrase, Magnus' attitude made the statement
perfectly clear.  He felt there was nothing more to say on the
issue.  His intentions were pure and that was all that needed to be
said.  That other people, including Xavier, might feel differently
would make no difference to him.

     "I caused no permanent damage, Charles.  I have even
reconstructed your door.  Is that not proof enough that this was no
attack?"  Magneto left unsaid that the X-Men had done a great deal
of damage on their own.  That wasn't his problem.

     "Next time, Magnus, simply knock.  Or call ahead."

     Magneto snorted.  "I think not.  You would meet me with every
weapon in your arsenal, and do your best to destroy me before I had
any chance to speak."

     Magnus meant that, too, Xavier knew.  But then, the man was
always honest. No, not even that -- honesty was too pale a word for
his integrity.  Magnus meant everything he said, and did not bother
disguising his purposes, no matter how much it might benefit him to
lie.  It said much about the man that he had ever been able been
able to carry out any of his schemes as Magneto.

     "What then do you wish to discuss with me, Magnus?"

     "A threat to all mutant-kind."

     Charles steepled his hands.  "Please go on.  I find this
extremely... interesting.  You have never asked my help before." 
It had happened the other way around on more than one occasion, but
Magnus had never actually turned to *him* for aid.

     "I have not needed your help."

     "And yet, you are here, asking for it."  Xavier kept his tone
gentle.  He needed to know what could terrify his old friend and
enemy into asking for help -- Magnus generally believed that he
could take on anything and anyone.  And would.  "Why is that?"

     "Because--" Magneto's voice stayed firm, "you have experience
with the workings of the government.  And I have need of such
experience."

     Xavier raised his eyebrows.  "Go on, please."

     Magnus paced.  "I think we both understand that anti-mutant
hysteria is chiefly based on an unnatural fear of the different?"

     "Yes, partially.  It is also rooted in the inferiority some
feel, given that we are homo superior, and they are homo sapiens. 
And," Charles' voice became dry, "in an understandable fear that
they will be killed out-of-hand by mutants in our battles to save
the world."

     "Na ja.  A cure has been discovered for this problem."

     "Really?  A cure for mutants?  I believe that most of the
mutant population would resist being 'cured'.  My telepathic powers
are not a disease, but a part of me."

     "You misunderstand, Charles.  They have discovered a way to
give anyone mutant powers."

     Puzzled, Xavier said, "That's not new... Genetics aside, I've
seen research on various -- and frequently deadly -- means to
produce superpowers.  All involve great risk, and have a high
mortality rate.  In many cases, the subjects who survive do not
receive any powers at all.  The very hazardousness of the process
limits its use.  It isn't a threat."

     "A new process exists.  It does not kill the adult recipient,
and it is approximately 90 percent effective."

     "So then I presume that it is possible that all people might
be made over into mutants."  Xavier considered the thought.  "That
would certainly remove the anti-mutant bias, although the potential
destruction to the planet could be extreme.  With so many people
possessing powers..." he trailed off into thought.  "It might be
better, however, as everyone would be on about the same level --
instead of a few people possessing pistols against an army of
people who have only clubs, everyone would possess pistols.  It
would be desirable for no one to possess firearms, but the
escalation is inevitable.  It could make the system self-policing." 
He looked up at Magneto.  "I would think that you'd be for this,
Magnus.  If everyone were a mutant, you would have achieved your
dream."

     "I would like to be alive to see my dream come to pass.  If
this new process is used, I may be dead."

     "Why would you be dead?"

     "Their plan -- the plan of these cowardly schemers -- is to
capture all existing mutants and harvest their brain chemicals to
create new, weaker 'mutants'.  Lab-produced and controllable.  Each
of us would provide enough of these chemicals to create several
more mutants.  I am told that I will be highly sought after, as my
greater powers will enable them to make many, many 'mutants' from
me.  Instead of being masters of magnetism, however, they will be
only practitioners.  Where I control metal, they will sense metal." 
Deep cynicism shadowed his eyes.  "They would be crippled
imitations of me.  The people behind this would have all of
humanity become crippled mutants -- 'safe' holders of the powers we
possess and which they crave, restrained behind
laboratory-controlled limitations to keep any from achieving power
or greatness." 

     "Yes, I can see why that would appeal to people.  If such an
idea were placed in the media, many of our lives would be in
danger.  Many of us can be taken off-guard, and it would hamper our
mission greatly if we must simultaneously deal with a superhuman
threat and a cannibalistic population who believes that killing us
will make them like us.  It would give them a rallying point which
would be difficult for us to stand against.  After all, they would
simply be trying to become like us -- our refusal to surrender to
their plan would be seen as selfish and uncooperative rather than
a matter of survival.  I can hear the argument now -- 'If you are
for mutantkind, then you will sacrifice yourself so that all may be
mutantkind.'" 

     Magneto nodded.  "You understand."  *At least, I sincerely
hope you do.  This cannot be a matter for your X-Men, either,
Charles; this must be YOUR battle, for it cannot be fought by
force.*  

     "You're quite right.  This battle must be fought from the
inside -- from within the government, and within the structures
that discovered and now wish to spread the knowledge of this
process.  It is, indeed, something I'll have to begin myself, with
my contacts."  

     Abruptly he realized from the expression on the face under the
helmet that Magnus had never actually *spoken* the last two
sentences he'd said.  That was unnerving -- Magnus's shields were
normally incredibly strong.  It was, in fact, so unnerving that
Charles shook his head, as if to clear it.  "I apologize.  I didn't
intend to read your mind, but it's difficult to shield from your
thoughts when you're concentrating so intently on them."

     Magnus inclined his head, and Charles sensed as shields which
had begun to take on a translucency in places solidified and became
opaque.  "So noted.  I have strengthened my shields against you."

     "Noted and appreciated."

     "Appreciated?" Magneto asked.  "If you have such an advantage
against an enemy, why would you wish it blocked away?"

     Xavier smiled thinly.  "Because, perhaps, I do not desire to
use it?"

     The red-clad man shook his head at the alien thought.  "In the
long run, Charles, I fear those ethics of yours will be your
undoing."  

     Charles shrugged slightly. "'For what shall it profit a man,
if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?'  If I
were to achieve my dream by mind-controlling everyone around me
into agreeing with me, wouldn't I have made myself into a monster
who deserves to be defeated?  I have the ethical high ground as
long as I'm fighting to protect the innocent from those who would
exploit or destroy them.  As soon as I become the exploiter myself,
I stoop to the level of my enemies, and then I've lost.  You can't
do good if you've sold your soul to do so."

     "And you believe that I have done this?"

     "I never said that."

     "No.  But I do not need to be a telepath to know it is what
you think."

     Charles sighed.  "We were allies, Magnus.  You recognized how
bankrupt your old ways of violence were, and you vowed to try it my
way.  What happened?  When I left Earth you were my friend, and
when I returned you promptly attacked me--"

     "I believed you had betrayed me." Magneto's voice was ice cold
and hard.  "I am still not convinced you did not."
     
     "Then you're a fool, Magnus, and I thought you smarter than
that.  I never betrayed you.  Why did *you* betray my dream?"

     "Because I *am* a fool, Charles, and so are you.  I should
never have embraced your dream in the first place, and you should
never have trusted me with it.  I am not you, cannot be you, and
when I tried to be you... my students, *our* students, died."  His
fist clenched.  "You ask what happened, Charles?  I learned how
useless your dream is, that is what happened.  It's a pretty
fantasy, but a deadly one, and it will kill you all.  I hope only
that I will have the strength not to weep at your graves, when you
inevitably fall."

     "You won't.  Any more than I had the strength not to weep for
you, when I thought you'd died on Asteroid M."

     Magnus inclined his head.  "Then I will weep.  I have done
that before.  It changes nothing."

     He started to turn to leave.  Charles caught his hand. 
"Wait."

     "For what?  I have delivered my warning; you have promised to
deal with the situation.  How you choose to do so is of no concern
to me; it's outside my expertise."

     "So you simply trust me to take care of the problem for you? 
That's unlike you, Magnus."

     "I would not have turned to you if I thought I could deal with
this matter on my own, or if I did not think you were quite capable
of handling the situation yourself."

     "So, you admit that my methods *do* work.  Perhaps not on
every problem, perhaps they're not methods you would be comfortable
using, but they're effective.  Isn't that what you're saying?"

     He smiled at the consternation on Magnus' face.  "Some few
problems, perhaps, but--"

     "Because, for my part, I'm willing to admit that there are
times when force is necessary.  Why do you think I put together my
X-Men, why I trained them as I did?  You yourself pointed out that
they're an effective, if hair-trigger, fighting force."

     "I've never doubted the fighting abilities of the X-Men, only
their usefulness in the long run at protecting mutantkind."

     "But, you just admitted that there are ways in which
mutantkind need protection where it's best to work *with* humanity
rather than against it.  Tell me, Magnus, how would you have dealt
with this threat if you *had* taken over the world?"

     "I'm no longer trying to take over the world.  The bloodshed
involved would be too terrible.  I merely wish to create a
sanctuary where our people can be safe--"

     "Which they would not be, even in your proposed sanctuary, if
half the population of humankind was trying to kill them to harvest
their brain chemicals to become superhuman."

     "*Yes*, Charles, that is why I *came* to you."

     "So--" Xavier smiled broadly, and sprung the trap-- "even if
you *achieved* your goals, you would still need me.  Or someone
like me, playing the role I play.  You can't do it alone."

     "I--"

     "You just admitted it, Magnus.  Surrender gracefully."

     "What are you playing at?"

     "Isn't it obvious?"  Xavier rolled out from behind his desk,
still facing Magneto down.  

     "No, it clearly isn't, or I would not be *asking* you."

     "I want you back."

     Magnus looked rather taken aback by the statement.  "Charles,
is there some aspect to our friendship that I was unaware of?"

     Abruptly Xavier realized how the statement could be
misconstrued, and laughed.  "As an ally," he said, and then it
occurred to him to wonder why Magnus, who was notorious for his
lack of a sense of humor, *had* come up with that particular
misconception... and if perhaps there was something to it.  

     Magneto's apparent death on Asteroid M had devastated Charles. 
He hadn't understood why Magnus had turned on him, how he'd become
so quickly and thoroughly convinced that Charles had betrayed him. 
And before they had a chance to reconcile, to talk and try to
understand what had gone so wrong in their relationship, Magnus had
bodily thrown him and the X-Men off the asteroid, so that they
would survive when the thing blew up.  It had then blown up, and
the grief and loss Charles had felt, combined with everything else
he'd recently suffered -- being used as a template for Skrulls to
steal his lover the Shi'ar Empress, and bend her to their will;
losing his son to the Shadow King; the Shadow King breaking his
spine -- all had made him numb, driven, focused entirely on his
work because to think of anything else was to risk utter
destruction.

     And then Magnus had saved his life, along with the lives of
Cyclops and Storm, and shortly thereafter reappeared on the world
scene, chastising the idiots who called themselves his Acolytes and
bringing them under firm control but otherwise making a general
nuisance of himself.  Thus far he'd blown up a plant that made the
anti-mutant Sentinels, but allowed the people to evacuate; hijacked
transports of food to New York City and airlifted them to Genosha
to feed to the mutates; interceded at the lynching of two teenage
mutants in Texas, killing most of the mob trying to kill the boys;
and in general done a number of violent, terribly politically
incorrect things that unfortunately, Charles Xavier could
understand and sympathize with.  The distance between their
philosophies seemed shorter than it had ever been in the old days
of Magneto's madness.  Thus, Charles's current obsessive need to
make Magnus understand that, to bring him back to the fold as an
ally, to resume their friendship.

     And friendship was all it was.  Right?

     "I consider you a doomed fool.  You say I have lost my soul. 
I do not see much room for compromise there."

     His voice sounded cold and angry, but his shields were
slipping again, and what shone from beneath them spoke of something
else -- hunger, a desperate desire to make their connection again,
a deep conviction that it wouldn't be possible and Charles would
reject him, as Magda had rejected him, as Rogue had rejected him...

     It was as if his subconscious was sabotaging him, opening up
his shields just enough, broadcasting just enough, that Charles
could see what he was feeling.  At least, Charles had to assume it
was subconscious sabotage.  Magneto was capable of shielding
himself better than *that.*

     And it hadn't escaped his attention that Magnus was comparing
him to his wife and to a woman who he'd wanted for a lover.

     It also hadn't escaped his attention that his own lover had
been making excuses not to see him for a year now -- a horrendously
traumatic year where he could seriously have used Lilandra's
support, and gotten none.  In fact, if he were to be brutally
honest with himself, Lilandra had been about as loving and
supportive over the past year as a Hacky Sack smacking into his
temple -- an experience that Jubilee had unfortunately gifted him
with.  At least Magnus was *supposed* to be an enemy.

     "There's always room for compromise."

     He reached out and took Magnus' hand.  The other man stared at
him as if he'd suddenly developed a second mutation and sprouted an
extra head, but didn't attempt to move away.

     Then he peeled off Magnus' glove.

     "Charles?" The other man's voice was ragged, a mixture of
shock and... something else... in his voice.  "*What* are you
doing?"

     Xavier stroked the now bare hand gently, with knowing fingers. 
"What does it look like?"

     "If I didn't know better, I would swear you're attempting to
seduce me."

     Charles looked up at him.  "Yes, I am, actually.  Is it
working?"

     "Of course not!  I'm not in the slightest attracted to men."

     "Then why are you still letting me hold your hand?"

     Magneto pulled his hand away rapidly.  "I am *not* attracted
to you, Charles."

     "Really?"

     "Whatever made you think I was?"

     "Would it prejudice my case if I said that you were
broadcasting again?"

     "I was not."  He took a step backward, then another.

     "And I suppose you're going to tell me you're not in the
slightest afraid of me?"

     "Afraid? Of *you?*"  Magneto stopped backing away and looked
down at him.  "Charles, you are a crippled man in a wheelchair.  I
am the Master of Magnetism.  Now that I've strengthened my mental
shields again, there is nothing you could do to me before I could
simply pick up your wheelchair and throw it into the wall."

     "Agreed," Xavier said, having successfully advanced while
Magnus was giving his speech.  He caught the bare hand again.  "No
reason for you to be afraid at all."

     Magnus stared at him bemusedly.  "I do not believe you are
doing this."

     "But I am, my friend."  Xavier raised Magneto's hand to his
lips.  "I am."

     Magneto started to pull away.  "You've clearly gone mad."

     Xavier still clasped his hand, having rather more upper body
strength than Magneto did.  There were some advantages to having to
do everything in life with your upper body.  Not many, but some.  

     Charles pulled that hand to his cheek.  "Please, Magnus. 
Don't go."

     Magnus shook his head.  "You *have* gone utterly mad, have
you?  Do you expect me to believe that after all these years you
suddenly *now* desire... more from me than friendship?"

     "No, I don't expect you to believe that."

     "Fine, then I can leave."  He tried to pull away again, but
didn't use his powers.  By now he had to have figured out that
unless he used them, he wasn't getting away.  Since he wasn't using
them, Charles assumed he wasn't as interested in getting away as he
was pretending.

     "I expect you to believe that I've always wanted something
more from you than friendship."

     "Excuse me?"

     "Well... I never knew how to bring it up.  I was dating
Gabrielle when we were friends in Israel; I may have a number of
faults, but two-timing my girlfriend so I can try to seduce my best
friend isn't one of them.  Then you went insane--"

     "I wasn't insane, Charles.  Merely obsessed with my cause."

     "As I said, then you went insane, and by the time you stopped
being insane, I was involved with Lilandra.  So it isn't exactly as
if I've had plenty of opportunities in the past.  And I thought
you'd laugh at me."

     "And I am so very accepting of this now?"

     "Well, you're standing there letting me do this--" he kissed
the palm of the other man's hand, and ran his lips lightly up the
long fingers.  "I'd call that acceptance."

     "I am merely stupefied by your effrontery."

     "Of course you are."  He resumed kissing Magnus' hand, taking
two of the fingers in his mouth and sucking lightly on them. 
Magnus' breathing became distinctly ragged.

     "And what of Lilandra, then?  She is no longer a
consideration?"

     Charles stopped and looked up.  "No."

     He didn't want to think about the implications of what he'd
just said, so he used Magneto's hand as a lever to spring his
powerful upper body up, clutching Magneto about the waist, and
hurling them both backward onto the carpeted floor.  The wheelchair
swayed but did not fall over.

     Xavier laid on Magneto's chest, intense, mesmerizing eyes
staring into Magneto's.  "Do you deny your own feelings?"

     "I feel nothing--"

     Lying on his chest this way, Xavier could hear Magnus'
heartbeat, considerably faster than it ought to be.  "Your heart's
beating faster, and your breathing is ragged.  Does that mean you
feel nothing?"

     "It means you're lying on my chest, Charles."

     Xavier slid off slightly, letting his useless legs fall off
Magnus' body at an angle, and propping himself up with one arm
while he ran the other over Magnus' body.  The costume was
remarkably light and soft, as chain mail went.  "I'm not lying on
your chest now."

     "No.  You're not."  His breathing was still conspicuously
ragged.

     The junction between Magnus' legs was protected by plate
armor, metal with no give to it.  Charles ran his hand over the
other man's hip, feeling for a catch, and found one-- apparently
Magnus didn't like the humiliating possibilities inherent in a
costume he could *only* remove with his powers.  In a world of
power neutralizers, this seemed wise.  Of course, it did mean that
other people could undo the catch and slip their hand in awkwardly,
encountering cotton underwear and the bare flesh of stomach and
upper thighs.  But then, the Master of Magnetism was surely capable
of holding a metal catch shut if he really wanted to.

     Unable to turn his hand to stroke properly, Xavier ran the
back of his hand from Magnus' hip down and in, grazing over a
hardness that belied Magnus' words.

     "So, then?" Xavier asked.  "Is this nothing?"

     "It's merely sexual desire.  It will cease."

     "You said a moment ago you don't desire me."

     Magnus shifted.  "Well... what did you expect me to say?"

     "I expected you to tell the truth."  He looked down at the
helmeted face.  Why Magnus' helmet hadn't fallen off when Charles
had knocked them both to the floor, Charles didn't know.  Probably
it was magnetized or something.  It was terribly inconvenient when
you wanted to kiss someone and they had a helmet on, but he didn't
have any free hands to remove it with.  "You're normally honest
even when it hurts you.  Probably because you're not a very good
liar."

     "I don't -- I'm not sure -- Charles, I have no idea how much
of this is because of you and how much is due to my having been
with no one since Lee, two years ago."

     "So you're saying that absolutely anyone could seduce you? 
If, I don't know, the Blob had done this--"

     "No!  That's positively disgusting."

     "I see.  Then that does imply that this--"  he pressed the
back of his hand harder against the cotton briefs and what lay
within them, stroking-- "has *something* to do with me."

     "Well.  Yes."  Magneto squirmed, not so uncomfortably, and
sighed.  "I admit, Charles, I do feel a certain sort of attraction
to you.  But I had assumed that it was the attraction of one great
mind to another--"

     "There's that also.  I feel that the sexual experience is
enhanced when both partners are capable of exercising their
intellects as well as their bodies as sexual organs."

     Xavier pushed himself up a bit to lie across Magnus' chest
again, so he could turn his hand at a better angle.  Once he could
cup his hand around Magnus' erection, he did so, stroking it.  The
thin material of the underwear under the metal groin protector gave
Magneto little protection against sensation.  Xavier outlined the
shape of Magnus' penis, paying particular attention to the
sensitive head.

     Magnus caught his breath.  The groin protector Charles had
partially dislodged melted away, leaving Charles free reign. 
Charles promptly took merciless advantage of this by sliding his
hand in under the leg band of the underwear, touching what lay
beneath directly.  A stifled moan escaped Magnus.  "Could you
please not do that when I'm trying to argue with you?"

     "Take off your helmet," Xavier said.  "Let me see your face."

     The helmet removed itself, sliding out from under Magneto's
head.  A shock of white hair was revealed.

     "You look vulnerable like that," Xavier commented, working the
underwear off carefully, and beginning to masturbate Magnus in
earnest.  "I see why you wear that thing.  No one would fear you as
much as you wish if you didn't -- you're entirely too handsome
without it."

     "Am I?"  He sounded as if he didn't actually quite believe it. 
This surprised Xavier.

     "Surely your lovers have told you how attractive you are
before."

     "They were women."  His tone of voice made it clear that
women's taste was an unfathomable, inexplicable thing.

     "I'm not."

     "I have noticed that, yes."  Magnus closed his eyes, then
groaned again.  "You can't be doing this.  *I* can't be doing this. 
Your students could walk in at any time."  

     "They won't."  Charles shifted himself so he could trace
Magnus' ear with one finger while he continued his ministrations
with the other hand.  "I've told my X-Men I'm in the midst of
important negotiations with you and not to be disturbed short of
the imminent destruction of the universe.  And we just saved the
universe last week, so it shouldn't be due again for some time." 
He kissed his friend's vulnerable neck, and wondered how the heck
he was going to get Magnus' shirt off past this metal collar.  It
didn't seem to have a catch.

     Magnus groaned again.  As Charles lifted his head, plotting an
attack on those sensual lips, Magnus's face contorted.  "No, this
is foolishness.  I don't want this.  I can't."

     "But you do, Magnus," Xavier said in a low voice.  "Your
body's made its feelings on the subject quite clear, and you're
having trouble keeping your mind from broadcasting how very much
you want this."

     "*You* obviously can't tell the difference between mere
physical desire and rational choice," Magnus retorted.

     Xavier laughed.  "There's never anything rational about
desire.  But, if you're so sure you don't want this--"  he stopped
stroking and let his hand release-- "I could stop."

     "That won't be necessary,"  Magnus said hastily.  He reached
around with both hands, pulling Xavier firmly against him.  "You
don't need to stop now."

     "But you want me to.  And I would never force myself upon an
unwilling partner."

     "I didn't say I was *unwilling*, I said I wasn't being
rational."

     "And of course it's so very important that you remain
rational."

     Charles saw something shift in Magnus' mind then, mostly
hidden behind his mindshields, and he rolled over, holding Xavier
firmly beneath him with the pressure of his body.  The rest of his
costume melted off, pooling on the floor.  "All right, Charles. 
Since you insist.  Let us throw rationality to the wind, and
explore the possibilities of an... alliance."  He bent his head
against Xavier's face and neck, kissing him fiercely.

     Xavier had the feeling he had just lost control of this
particular encounter.

     "An... alliance?" he gasped.  He hadn't quite meant to gasp. 
He had meant to remain firmly in control of himself.  This was
*his* seduction and it was hardly fair of Magnus to turn it around
like this, and certainly very unfair of the other man to be so very
talented with his mouth.  "Is... that what we're discussing?"

     "You're the one who wished to seduce me to your cause," Magnus
replied.  He captured Xavier's mouth and thrust his tongue inside,
conquering the other man.  He pulled his head up and looked down,
panting.  "Perhaps it should be the other way about.  Lilandra has
left you and you claim you've always wanted me.  Perhaps I should
be the one seducing *you* to *my* cause, no?"

     Xavier's eyes were wild, almost possessed.  "I... wasn't
trying... to seduce you to the cause."

     "No?  Don't lie to me, Charles."  He drew back, holding
Charles away from his body.

     "No.  I was just trying to seduce *you.*  No causes
necessary."

     "And I am to believe that?  The last time I asked for your
friendship you demanded that I take your place with the X-Men and
the New Mutants.  It nearly destroyed me.  Am I to think you offer
yourself with no strings attached at all?"

     "If you'd flown off, we'd never have had a real dialogue. 
We'd never have a chance to try to make a compromise.  I don't want
to make you become me but I don't want you to leave, Magnus.  I
wanted to try to make things work between us."

     "And so you saw my vulnerability, and used it.  You tried to
seduce me to hold me to you."

     "No!  I mean... I wanted you to stay, to *talk* to you, but...
it wasn't that Machiavellian, I swear it..."

     He had almost gotten from concern that Magnus thought he was
being manipulated to genuine fear, considering what had happened
the last time Magnus had thought Charles was manipulating him, when
Magnus buried his head in the crook of Charles' neck and began
sucking on his earlobe.  "You should know better than to try to
manipulate me, Charles," Magnus said in between assaults on
Charles' ear and neck.  "It simply doesn't work.  I won't listen to
your foolish notions any better after we've had sex than I would
have before you offered."

     "What if I proposed my foolish notions during?" Charles asked,
panting.  "Would you listen then?"

     "You talk too much," Magnus said, and took possession of his
mouth again.

     Charles thought of pointing out that a telepath didn't
actually need his mouth to talk, and decided he didn't want to do
anything that might antagonize Magnus and make him stop.

     Magnus leaned back and unbuttoned Xavier's shirt, his hands
sweeping over the other man's chest protectively.  Xavier sighed at
the feeling of Magnus's hands.  It would be nice to be able to
simply enjoy this, but he had the feeling Magnus was after a hidden
agenda of some sort.

     "So this is some elaborate attempt to prove that I can't
manipulate you?  Or that it wouldn't do any good if I did?  Or do
you truly think that if you drive me mad with pleasure I'll toss my
ethical concerns aside and join you?"

     "You misunderstand, Charles.  This is not about attempting to
persuade you to join me.  And if I'd wanted to prove you can't
manipulate me, I should have left quite some time ago."  A nipple
was tweaked, and Xavier tightened.  Sexual pleasure had become a
thing of the past for him when the Shadow King had snapped his
spine.  His paralyzed body did not prohibit sexual stimulation, but
it barred him from active participation with any partner less
imaginative than a gymnast.  And he did not wish to be perceived as
a freak or as a charity case.  He wanted the desire to be mutual. 


     Lilandra no longer desired him, it was clear.  But it was
equally clear that Magnus did.

     Moist lips followed fingertips, as Magnus sucked on the now
erect nipple. It was almost like having sex -- which said too much
about the pitiful state of Charles' love life of late.  "Then what
is this about?" Xavier asked breathlessly.

     "Sex, Charles.  This is about sex."

     *Oh, well, yes.  Go with the obvious answer.*  Xavier felt
bemused.  "You have no hidden agendas?  No secret plots?  You've
actually agreed to this simply because you want to go to bed with
me?"

     "Why, Charles?  Are you reconsidering?"  His eyes bored into
Charles'.  "If you're suddenly going to ask me to leave, I rather
wish you would not have started this in the first place."

     "If I did ask you to leave, would you?"

     "I can't believe you even need to ask that."

     No, he supposed that was a stupid question.  Magnus was many
things, but not a rapist.  "I'm sorry.  I'm just-- rather amazed at
all this.  I never imagined before today that you held this sort of
interest in me."

     "Nor I you.  But now that we are aware of our matching
interests, I am certain that we can settle this affair to our
mutual pleasure."  Magnus' lips moved down Xavier's body, not
neglecting any of the sensitive skin, as his hands undid Charles'
pants and slid them down.  Charles shivered as air caressed the
portions of his lower body that he could feel.  "How far down your
body are you capable of perceiving sensation?"

     Xavier motioned with his hand.  "I have limited feeling in my
pelvic region.  Below there, I'm entirely numb."

     "Useful under the present circumstances."

     He wondered what Magnus meant by that, then ceased wondering
as Magnus' mouth moved lower on his body, until his penis had been
encased within it.  He stiffened with the sudden shock of the
touch, then forced himself to relax as much as he could.

     "I presume," Magnus said, pulling back, "that that is one of
the areas in which you are capable of perceiving sensation?"

     "Yes," Charles managed to say.

     "Good."  Magnus bent back down over him, resuming his
ministrations.  This time he did not pause for words.  His tongue
lapped at the smooth skin, lubricating the stiffening shaft and
teasing it into a greater state of hardness.

     Helpless to move his body in response, Xavier reached down to
the silver head positioned above his groin, hands weaving into that
thick hair, as if savoring a forbidden pleasure.  He groaned low in
his chest as Magnus took him completely within his mouth.  "Yes..."

     As the encouragement hissed from his lips, the rhythm
increased to match his need.  He wanted this, wanted it
desperately.  Magnus possessed him with a dark fury that Xavier
welcomed, struggled against and desired.  Though he'd known for
years that his feelings for his friend and enemy were rather more
intense than he commonly admitted to, he had never expected to end
up actually fulfilling those fantasies.

     Charles was out-of-control, never in control, with little way
to stop the other man even if he wished.  Physically, he had no way
to halt this encounter -- he could not even thrust into Magnus'
mouth to deepen the experience.  He was at the other man's mercy. 
That should terrify him.  As a paralyzed man, he knew far, far too
much about being helpless.  He should *not* be turned on by the
thought of being at Magnus' mercy, especially after all the times
when it had been real, all the times when the fate of the world or
at the least the lives of his students had been at stake.

     But this wasn't one of those times.  He could call the X-Men
if he really wanted to stop this, or attack Magnus with his mind. 
He wasn't really helpless; it was just an illusion.  An incredibly
arousing illusion.  And it was good.  Incredibly good.  Too good to
last.

     He felt the orgasm building in him, tight flashes of burning
sensation indicating that he could hold out little longer.

     "Magnus!" he exclaimed sharply as he came, clenching his hands
into the other man's hair, keeping that contact where it was most
needed, keeping Magnus from moving away.

     He heard rather than saw Magneto's chuckle when the other man
licked the tip of his penis lovingly, laving away the last bits of
semen.  "I had no intention of disappointing you, Charles.  You
needn't have been so rough. I have no wish to lose my hair as you
have."

     "That's not how I lost my hair," Xavier felt compelled to
point out, even as his body fed him back messages about the
incredible pleasure he had just received.  He felt languorous and
sated, and did not object as Magnus turned him over onto his
stomach.

     Hands began probing him, assessing the musculature of his
legs, hips and buttocks.  Charles felt very little of what Magneto
was doing, only random touches when the hands explored far enough
up for him to feel them.  "I see you have not neglected regular
physical therapy for your body." 

     "Of course not."

     "Good."  He hesitated.  "Is this acceptable to you, Charles?"

     "Damnit, Magnus," Charles said, reduced to one of his rare
uses of profanity.  "*Do* you want me to beg?  Is that what this is
about after all?  Some sort of revenge for making you admit to
wanting me?"  Silence met this question.  "Please, Magnus--"

     He was abruptly repositioned so that he was kneeling, his
lower body held by Magneto's power, while his chest pressed against
the ground.  Magnus growled at him, even as he granted Charles'
request.  "Do not beg, Charles.  It is demeaning."

     "Then what seems to be the problem?"

     "I am not a necrophiliac."

     Charles grasped the significance of that comment at once.  His
body and the physical issues that came along with his paralysis
were painfully familiar to him by now, even if he largely existed
in the life of the mind.  He understood why Magnus might have
problems having sex with a body that could not feel or respond to
him.  It would be like having sex with an object.  "If it bothers
you, I can return the favor you just granted me."

     Magnus hesitated. "It would seem rather more... voluntary on
your part, yes.  But if it would make you uncomfortable..."

     Charles laughed, turning himself around somewhat awkwardly. 
"Magnus, what do you think I was planning to do when I started
this?"

     "As I was planning to give you my message and then leave, I
couldn't say."  He reached up and pulled the other man down next to
him.  "I still don't quite believe we're doing this on the carpet
in your study," Magnus remarked.  "I feel like some sort of
debauched teenager."

     "If we cannot act like debauched teenagers with each other,
who *can* we act that way with?"  Charles pointed out, and kissed
him.  This time he intended to stay in control of the situation...
more or less.  Magnus was not the sort to lie back and passively
let himself be kissed, apparently; one of his hands went behind
Charles' head, cupping it and stroking the smooth skin there with
his fingers, and he returned the kiss passionately.  Charles slid
his hands over Magnus' back, bringing one forward to glide down his
side and slip between their bodies, reaching for his erect penis. 
Magnus moaned, pulling his head back from the kiss with a gasp, and
Charles took the opportunity to change their position, pushing
Magnus over onto his back where Charles could more easily reach
him.

     He slid down his friend's body, using one hand to support and
move himself and the other to caress Magnus' groin while he kissed
and licked his way down Magnus' naked torso.  It was a little
awkward; more than once he had to stop what he was doing with his
hand and use it to help the other one in scooting himself down or
getting into position.  The unintentional effect seemed to be to
tease Magnus.  After the fourth time he'd done it, a groan escaped
the other man, and the hand still stroking his head tightened
slightly, pushing his head lower.  "Charles, please..."

     Immediately Charles felt sorry for teasing him -- Magnus'
pride was a terrible thing when wounded, and it hadn't been
Charles' intention to make him beg.  He sent a wordless apology
telepathically, a reassurance that it had been unintentional and he
would not do it again.  He then followed up on the telepathic
reassurance with a physical one, positioning himself so that his
head could lay comfortably between Magnus' legs, planting a kiss on
the hard organ there, licking the head of it gently, and then
drawing it into his mouth.  

     Magnus gasped.  "Ah... Charles... I don't... I..."

     *It's all right*, Charles sent, carefully staying out of the
other man's thoughts.  *Don't worry about anything right now.  Just
enjoy.*  He wondered how long it had been since Magnus had allowed
himself to "just enjoy" anything.  Probably longer than it had been
for Charles himself, he was sure.  

     Charles had never actually done this before, but he'd been
inside the minds of lovers doing it for him, many times; he was not
surprised by the experience in any way.  The thought occurred to
him to wonder where *Magnus*, not a telepath, had gotten his skill
at fellatio, but he quickly decided he really didn't want to know. 
At the moment, all he was interested in was the taste and feel of
the organ he was suckling, and the entirely gratifying reactions of
the body it was attached to.  Magnus' mental shields slipped, his
mind involuntarily opening to Charles, broadcasting the pleasure he
felt.

     And then anything he was broadcasting that resembled thought
disintegrated in a kaleidoscope whirl of pleasure, and he cried out
as he came.  Charles continued to suck and lick him as aftershocks
trembled through his body, until finally Magnus pushed Charles'
head away.  "Enough," he said hoarsely.

     Charles lifted his head, and Magnus sat up a bit to reach him,
taking hold and pulling him up over Magnus' body until the two of
their heads were level again, and Charles was lying next to his
friend with Magnus' arm around him.  "I wonder what the fate of the
world would have been, if we'd done this years ago," he said.

     "We would have killed each other out of rage and betrayal, of
course," Magnus said, his voice still slightly hoarse.  "I cannot
help but think the reason we did not do this before was the danger
to our hearts.  To lose a friend to ideology is bad enough."

     "You think we're doomed to betray each other over ideals, and
kill one another, then?"  Charles ran a hand through Magnus' hair. 
"I'd really rather not if it's all the same to you."

     "Ah, but that will happen anyway.  We are doomed to being
strong-minded individuals who will not surrender their ideological
positions.  No, to lose a friend to heartbreak..." his voice
trailed off, and his hand ran soothingly across Xavier's arm, "...I
trust that I need not go into the pain of losing one's best friend
and lover?"

     "And yet," Charles said quietly.  "We've done this now. 
Surely this still changes our worlds."

     "This changes nothing.  It cannot be allowed to change
anything."

     Charles shook his head, looking up at the ceiling.  "I think
you're wrong.   It changes everything." He turned his head.  "Are
you going to tell me that after what we've just shared, you would
*want* to fight me?  Or that I would want to fight you?  Wouldn't
you rather try to find some sort of compromise?"

     Magnus pulled away from him slightly and levered himself up on
one arm, looking at Charles with a wry expression.  "Certainly. 
But how much room is there for compromise when one of us is right
and the other is wrong?"

     Charles was quite aware that Magnus meant 'when I am right and
you are wrong'.  It would have been quite out-of-character for
Magneto to admit to being wrong, especially when they were
discussing his judgment.  He found it one of the more charming --
and infuriating -- things about the man.  Shaking his head, he
said, "If things were going to stay as they were, then we were
fools to do this, because it will only hurt worse when we have to
turn on each other again.  But I don't want things to stay as they
were.  I can't stop hoping for the best from humanity, and you
can't stop fearing the worst.  But doesn't that sound like a
balance, of sorts?  If we could find a way to work together that
compromised neither of our beliefs, think of the good we could do
our people.  Quite aside from the good we could do each other."

     Magnus shook his head, and stood, pulling his underwear on. 
"You're still a hopeless idealist, Charles.  We are opposite
extremes. How can we possibly work together?"

     "I don't know.  We'd have to talk, and try to figure that one
out." Charles looked up at Magneto.  "Are you willing to try?  Or
are you going to play the coward about your personal life again,
and run away from what you want because you're so sure you cannot
have it that you aren't even going to try?"

     For a moment, Magneto's face darkened with rage, and Charles
wondered if he'd pushed the point too hard.  Of course, pushing the
point -- exaggerating it, really -- was about the only way to force
Magnus to see just what the point was.  A realistic point would
never do.  Before Xavier could become truly worried, the other man
relaxed visibly, his fists unclenching.  A sardonic look came over
his face.  "If it might mean I can turn *you* from your misguided
ways and make you understand what must be done before it is too
late... then yes, I am willing to try."

     He reached down, lifting Charles up.  "Let me help you get
dressed."  

     "I only need help with the pants."  He could do it himself,
but it was very annoying -- the effort required to lift his lower
body so that he could pull the pants over his hips was a tremendous
one -- so he welcomed Magnus' help.  It was only fair, considering
that Magnus had been the person to take the pants off.

     Magnus put him back in his chair with pants on and his shirt
in his lap.  He stepped back, summoning his own costume to him,
while Charles put his shirt on.  Then, with both of them dressed,
he took Charles' head in his hands, bent down, and kissed him.

     He drew back, leaving Charles -- and, apparently, himself --
somewhat out of breath.  "I don't want to fight you either," he
said softly.  "If there is a way to find a compromise... by all
means, let us try."

     The large picture window, hidden behind curtains, unlatched
itself, and he levitated up to it and flew out.  The breeze flapped
the curtains behind him. 

     Charles stared out the window and watched him go, a smile on
his lips.  They both had a much greater incentive to try to make a
compromise work, now.  Because this did change everything.


-the end-